Rosette structure and method of making the same



Sept. 2, 1958 s, Do e 7 2,849,821

ROSETTE STRUCTURE ANDMETHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Aug. 6. 1956 practice.

United States Patent ROSETTE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Stuart H. Doig, Marengo, lll.

Application August 6, 1956, Serial No. 602,341

Claims. (Cl. 41-10) This invention relates to rosettes or pompons such as are commonly formed of ribbon to decorate gift-wrapped packages.

As is well known in the art, the making of such rosettes by the manual looping of ribbon is a technique.

which is laborious and requires great skill and much For this reason, most people commonly employ an expert gift-wrapper.

Another difiiculty inherent in prior art practices is the attachment of a rosette to a wrapped package in such manner that the attachment is concealed or at least is not obvious to the recipient of the package.

A number of ineffective solutions to theseproblems have been proposed, such as the prefabrication of rosettes which are sold in finished form for attachment tothe package by the wrapper. However, such prefabricated rosettes are not only expensive in construction but are fragile and diflicult to store because they occupy a great amount of space and are unduly subject to crushing and soiling by handling. Also, such prefabricated rosettes do not provide convenient means for attaching them to the package in such manner that the attachment is concealed.

Another prior art efiort to solve the foregoing problems has been the manufacture and sale of perforated ribbon together with a prong construction or short draw string or ribbon which may be passed by the user through the perforations of the rosette ribbon as the latter is looped back and forth by the user. This solution fails to eliminate the laborious task imposed upon the user in manually looping the ribbon, results in an unsightly rosette which requires manual manipulation and also fails to solve the problem of attaching the finished rosette to the package in a neat and inconspicuous manner.

Accordingly. a primary object of the present invention is to .evise a rosette which may be quickly and 'efficiently formed by an unskilled user.

Another object of the invention is to accommodate quick attachment of a rosette to a pre tied package.

A further object of the invention is to minimize the time necessary to make a rosette by eliminating the necessity for manual forming of the loop and the rosette.

Yet another object of the invention is to devise a ribbon and draw string assembly which may be wound on a spool for convenient storage, so that the desired length may be quickly cut off and formed into a rosette.

in one embodiment of the invention, the draw string is threaded through equally spaced apertures of the ribbon,

and in another embodiment of the invention, the apertures are arranged in pairs for a purpose hereinafter described.

A more specific object of the invention is to devise a backing member having means for quick attachment to the ribbon of a pre-tied package, said member having a rosette formed on one side thereof.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of th invention will become apparent from a consideration of Tee Figure. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the invention with the parts shown before formation of the rosette by pulling the draw string,

Figure 2 is a central section view along the axis of the draw string shown in Figure 1, with the rosette partly formed;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the completed rosette;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the backing member is attached to a ribbon by which a package is tied;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 showing a modification of the invention;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 2 but showing the modification; and

Figure 7 is a plan view of the backing member showing the manner of attachment to the package ribbon and showing the manner in which the free end of the draw string is anchored to said member after formation of the rosette.

Describing the invention in detail and referring first to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-3, it will be seen that a continuous segment of ribbon 2 is perforated as at 4 to accommodate a draw string 6 which may be in the form of a cord, as illustrated, or a ribbon or any other flexible element which passes loosely through the perforations 4. The apertures are illustrated in the form of holes through the ribbon; however, if desired the apertures may be formed by staples or similar devices attached to the ribbon.

It may be noted that in the embodiment of Figures 1-3, the draw string 6 extends at one side of the ribbon 2 between each perforation 4 and the next adjacent perforation and extends at the opposite side of the ribbon between said next adjacent perforation and the succeeding perforation.

The ribbon 2 with the draw string 6 threaded through its perforations 4 may be wound on a ribbon spool (not shown) for convenient storage by a retailer or by a user.

When a rosette is to be made, a desired length of ribbon 2 and draw string 6 are cut off, and one end of the draw string is attached to the ribbon 2 as by stapling or by tying a knot or bead 8 thereon which will not pass through the perforations 4. The opposite end of the draw string 6 is passed through a hole or aperture of a backing member or disc 10, hereinafter described in detail, and is then pulled through the hole of the disc, so that the ribbon is piled in loops 11 thereagainst without the necessity of any manual looping or guiding of the ribbon by the user.

An important feature of the invention resides in the discovery that the ribbon 2 is automatically piled into loops 11 (Fig. 3) which automatically assume a random distribution as the draw string is pulled through the aperture of the disc 10, the first loop 11 of the ribbon is pulled against the disc 10 and as the second loop is pulled against the first loop, the second loop rotates, slightly slipping against the first loop. This action continues as each succeeding loop is pulled snugly against the immediately preceding loop until the completed rosette is formed as shown in Fig. 3, with no more skill or dexterity required by the operator than that necessary to simply pull th draw string 6 through the hole of the disc 10.

It is believed that this novel action occurs because of the smoothness of the ribbon and the loose fit of the draw element 6 in the apertures 4. In actual practice the draw string 6 is usually an ordinary piece of inexpensive string which fits very loosely through the apertures 4. As the string 6 is pulled through the apertureof the disc, the weight of the top loop 11 immediately adjacent the disc is carried by the ribbon therebelow, and the string 6 In the embodiment of Figures l3, the loops 11, as best shown in Figure 2, are formed symmetrically about the draw string so that one loop 11 exposes the inside surface 12 of the ribbon and the neXt loop 11 exposes the out side 14 of the ribbon. If, as is frequently the case, the ribbon has a shiny surface on one side thereof and a dull surface on the opposite side thereof, the completed rosette is partly formed of loops which expose the shiny surface and is partly formed of loops which expose the dull surface.

While this may not be objectionable because the finished rosette of Figures l3 is nevertheless attractive and full formed, it may be desirable to have all visible loops expose one side of the ribbon and such an embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 5 and 6, wherein parts corresponding to those of Figures 1-3 are identified by corresponding numerals.

In Figures 5 and 6, the disc is not shown but may be identical with that of Figures l3. Also, in Figures 5 and 6, alternate loops 11 are full length and alternate loops 11a are very short due to the fact that the apertures 4, as shown in Figure 5, are arranged in pairs spaced approximately equidistantly from each other lengthwise of the ribbon. The apertures of each pair are also preferably spaced from each other the same distance as the spacing between the apertures of every other pair, and the space between the apertures of each pair is much less than the space between the respective pairs of apertures.

Thus, as shown in Figure 6, each portion of the ribbon which forms a loop 11a between a pair of apertures 4 forms a very short loop. These short loops 11a are not visible in the completed rosette because they are covered by the full length loops all of which expose only one side of the ribbon.

Referring now to Figure 7, it will be seen that the backing member 10 comprises a flat disc having a central aperture 15 to receive the draw string 6. The disc may be formed of cardboard, plastic or any other suitable material having a pair of aligned slits 16 therethrou'gh extending inwardly from diametrically opposed points on the perimeter of the disc.

Each slit 16 intersects another slit 18 approximately normal thereto, the length of the slit 18 being slightly greater than the width of a ribbon 20 so that the latter may be slipped through the slits 16 into the slits 18 to anchor the backing member 10 to the ribbon 20 after the latter has been tied around a package 21 as shown in Figure 4.

One side of each slit 18bounds an aperture 22 through the member 10, said aperture 22 also being bounded by a slit 24 through the member 10.

Thus, after the draw string 6 ha been pulled to completely form the rosette, the draw string may be pulled through one of the slits 16 into the related aperture 22 and thence into its slit 24 to anchor the draw string 6 to the backing member and'thereby prevent accidental release of the loops forming the rosette. The excess drawstring 6 may becut ofi.

The ribbon 20 may then be slipped through'the slits 16 and into the slits 18 to attach the backing member 10 to the ribbon 20 as shownin Figures 4 and 7.

It may be noted that although the novel backing' member 10 is particularly adapted to formation-jot the novel rosette disclosed in this application and forms part of the novel rosette combination claimed hereby, certain features of the novel backing member may be utilized with prior art rosettes to attach them to the ribbons of pre-tied packages.

While the present invention has been explained and described with reference to specific embodiments of structure, it will be understood, nevertheless, that numerous modifications and variations are susceptible of being incorporated without departure from the essential spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, it is not intended for an understanding of this invention to be limited by the foregoing descrip ion nor by the illustrations in the annexed drawings, except as indicated in the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. In assembly for making a rosette, a substantially straight segment of ribbon having a plurality of apertures therethrough positioned so as to produce loops, a substantially straight'draw string loosely received in said openings, one end of said string being anchored to one end of the segment, and a backing member having an aperture receiving said draw string at the opposite end of said segment.

2. In an assembly for making a rosette, a segment of ribbon having a plurality of apertures along its longitudinal length to produce loops, a draw string at least as long as said ribbon and threaded through said apertures, one end of the string being anchored to the segment at one end thereof, and a backing member at the opposite end of said segment having an aperture receiving said string.

3. A method of making a rosette comprising the steps of threading a draw string through apertures of a segment of ribbon of predetermined length, said apertures being positioned along the longitudinal length of said segment to form loops, anchoring the string to the segment at one end thereof, and then pulling said string to force the ribbon into a pile of loops against an abutment at opposite end of said segment.

4. A method of making a rosette comprising threading a draw string through openings of a ribbon which openings are positioned along its longitudinal length, then attaching the string to the ribbon at one end thereof, then pulling the string through an aperture of an abutment at the opposite end of said ribbon to pile the latter in loops against the abutment, and then pulling the string into a slit of theabutment to anchor the string thereto.

5. An assembly for making a rosette comprising a ribbon having a plurality of apertures along its longitudinal length, a flexible draw element threaded through said apertures and anchored to one end of the ribbon, an abutment having an aperture receiving said element, said element being at least as long as said ribbon and said ribbon being substantially unlooped, whereby upon pulling said element through said last-mentioned aperture, the ribbon is piled in loops against the abutment.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein the apertures of the ribbon are arranged in pairs spaced horizontally and substantially equally from each other, the apertures of each pair being more closely spaced than the apertures of respective pairs.

7. A rosette comprising a plurality of ribbon loops attached to one side of a backing member said loops being fixed in position by a centrally threaded string extending through said member, a pair of spaced aligned slits through said member, another pair of slits through said member and each connected to one of the first-mentioned slits and approximately normal thereto, whereby said centrally threaded string may be inserted through the firstmentioned 'slits into the second-mentioned slits to hold the opposite side of said member against a package, said firstmentioned slits being used to attach said rosette to the tying means for said package.

8. A decorative rosette for use in gift-wrapping a package comprising a flat elongated continuoussegrnent of ribbon material, a pluralityofperforations positionedin 5 alignment in the center of said ribbon material along the longitudinal axis thereof, each of said perforations being spaced a predetermined distance from its next adjacent perforation so that each portion of said ribbon material between each of said perforations when folded upon itself will form a loop of predetermined size, a draw member loosely received within said perforations, said draw member having a length greater than that of the ribbon segment, means for retaining said draw member against the upper part of said ribbon segment whereby when said draw member is pulled, the flat elongated ribbon material is piled into loops of predetermined size to form a decorative rosette.

9. A decorative rosette for use in gift-wrapping a package comprising a flat elongated continuous segment of ribbon material, a plurality of perforations positioned in alignment in the center of said segment along the longitudinal axis thereof, each of said perforations being spaced a predetermined distance from its next adjacent perforation so that each portion of said ribbon between each of said perforations, when folded upon itself, will form a loop of predetermined size; a draw member loosely received within said perforation, said draw member having a length greater than that of the ribbon segment, means for holding said draw member at the upper part of said ribbon segment and a backing member at the lower end of the ribbon segment whereby when the draw member is pulled through said perforations, the flat elongated ribbon material is piled into loops of predetermined size against said backing member to form a decorative rosette of predetermined size.

10. A decorative rosette for use in gift-wrapping packages comprising a fiat elongated segment of ribbon material, a plurality of apertures arranged in horizontal pairs positioned in alignment along the longitudinal axis of said segment, each respective pair being spaced a predetermined distance from its next adjacent respective pair and the individual apertures of each pair 'being located substantially at the outer edge of said ribbon material to form two aligned sets of apertures; a pair of draw members passing through each set of apertures, means for holding said draw members to the upper part of said ribbon segment whereby when said draw members are pulled, the flat elongated ribbon material is piled into loops of predetermined size to form a decorative rosette.

I References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 815,005 Case Mar. 13, 1906 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,610 Austria Nov. 18, 1902 

